Living history at Corrie for Remembrance weekend

Students at Corrie Primary School were treated to a piece of living history in the run up to Remembrance Day last week when they had the chance to see a 67-year-old Army Jeep.

John Kay brought his 1952 Humber ‘One Tonne Cargo’ to the Denton school on Friday [8 November] morning to give the pupils a visual representation of the lessons they’ve been learning in class.

The students had created artwork centred around the theme of poppies and remembrance ahead of Remembrance Sunday and also spoke to a historian dressed as a soldier.

Alice, from class 6G, said: “What we’ve been doing is poppy art. Some of us have been crying off the internet and trying to draw it. Some of us have been doing our own designs.

“The poppy represents blood from the soldiers fighting in the war. Because the poppies grew in the same fields they fought on.”

Jacob from class 3 AF added: “We did poppies yesterday to represent the war and to remember. We did it with charcoal. I’m excited to see the truck.”

John explained just how unique the jeep is. “It’s got a rolls Royce 4 1/2 litre straight 6 petrol engine and its got independent suspension all round so its really nice to drive. It’s extremely rare, I think there’s only this one left, there isn’t any more.

“It does about 12 or 13 miles to the gallon but its got two 14 gallon fuel tanks, one on each side, so it holds 28 gallons and it needs it, you know.”

The vehicle has seen active military service, being used in wars in the Middle East and in Korea.

John has owned the vehicle for 35 years, originally buying it for just £130 but pouring thousands more pounds and man hours into restoring it.

The children were excited to see such a huge vehicle and a lucky few even got to take their turn sitting in the driver's seat.